I made a trip to Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) once at night for an inter-school debating session and stayed way past midnight. Once my work was done, I made my way out of the school. Walking past the statue of Tan Kah Kee, Hwa Chong’s founder, erected in the middle of the school, a cold breeze suddenly blew past me. A low monotonous voice was then heard, asking me, “What’s the time now, boy?” It just made my hair stand on its ends. Looking around, however, I saw no one. Looking upwards, I watched in horror as the statue turned its head, with bloodshot eyes coupled with an eerie smile, towards me. Faced with such a situation, I ran out of the school compound as fast as my legs could carry me.

I swore never to enter the grounds of Hwa Chong again. However, I was called back again the next year for another debating session. Reluctantly, I headed to the session, again, staying till 2am. One of the events some of the HCI seniors had planned was to bring us around on a night tour of the school. We started off with the Science Block, where there were rumoured “human babies” kept in bottles and stored for examination. Perhaps it was coincidence, that we heard some faint cries of a mother, calling for her child.

Walking past the field, we were told that the Japanese soldiers had used the area to practice their daily routines and more gruesomely still, as a burial ground during World War II. Many soldiers also died on the field itself. We were dared by the HCI seniors to stand in the middle of the green and shout military commands. Obviously no one took up the challenge, so one of the seniors decided to prove to his peers that there was no need to worry about. As he took his place on the field, our faces turned white. There was something, possibly someone, hovering behind him, breathing loudly. He turned behind and claimed he saw nothing. On a closer look, we still saw the figure, faint and white as a sheet, with long curled fingernails that was just crying for a manicure.

The senior left us to compose himself, leaving us in the care of the other seniors. We then continued with the tour of HCI. Our next stop was the clock tower, which all of us were eager to view. I mean, a giant clock tower in the middle of the school, what’s there not to see? However, we were strongly discouraged against that, as firstly, it was against the school rules and the area was out of bounds to students. Secondly, a teacher had once hanged himself in the clock tower and his restless spirit still lurks in the clock tower itself. Perhaps this explains why the clock would strike 13 times at 12 midnight, let people know of the spirit’s presence.

I’m not sure about what you might have heard about HCI. But from what I know, I’d say staying at home would be a much better choice than making a trip there at night.

Article written by: [Daryl Loy], [National Junior College]